Is Susan Boyle The Real Thing?

Okay. Okay. We knew it would happen. After
Susan Boyle made women across the western world get all sniffly
with her Les Mis tune, the critics are out questioning her
authenticity.

On
The Velvet Rope, there are comments about the make-up job
Britain's Got Talent gave her, her cat-love and sad life story.
The streams keep coming though.

A sampling of the naysayers:

"I wonder if she's a plant - maybe a
musical actress in her 20s who retired to have a family, then 20
years later was recruited and given a new identity for the show.
The last couple of seasons of AI have had more plants than a
nursery."

"Dude, that was such marketing
horseshit. (Damn well done, but horseshit nontheless.) This did
the *exact* same thing a coupla seasons back with the Paul
whatshisface mentioned above:
Goat-faced fat man gets up, everyone guffaws...and then OHMIGOSH!
Turns out (golly gee), you can't judge a book by its cover. I
dunno about you, but I sure learned an important lesson.
Seriously, how is it that everyone doesn't smell this from a mile
away?!?"

"This was also staged, and her
bio--the whole angle of her taking care of her sick mum and
having a cat is really too obvious an angle. Watch the video
again, and how calmly she returns to the stage and how the
announcers are into it. As a singer, Ms. Boyle has incredible
poise and control for someone who claims she has never been given
the chance to sing. She has, it's obvious. And there will be a
Pygmalion-like evolution for her as the UK fashion designers
spruce her up whether or not she wins or comes out close to the
top. Otherwise she'll be regarded as a novelty act."

"Yes, she was absolutely in cahoots with
the producers. Even how she was groomed (wearing make up
everywhere but on her eyes, not having hair on her
face--anywhere--except those eyebrows) also reveals the work the
producers had the make up artists do on her. They capitalized on
the right facial features for what they were trying to get
across."